noobie -> Before I get ahead of myself

[Syndicate]

I have done so much reading things are starting to get confusing But I am going to take it slow before I do anything. I want to start my very first nano and sw tank. 20g aga long. want to get it drilled for an overflow. A 10 gallon overflow + AquaC Urchin protien skimmer. Here is what I would like to keep as far as coral: Ricordea Mushroom, Blue/Green , Ricordea Mushroom, Red/Pink ,Clove Polyp (purple) , Cladiella (colt coral),

Bubble Tip Anemone;( much later an open brain and one clam) ; Inverts plus one to two fish



Please forgive me for the long stream of questions that are about to follow.

I am imbased to ask all of them at once, but I think most of the answers will depend on the tank setup and coral I want to keep so I will just ask them all at once to keep things in presective.



1) Does the overflow need a refugium?

with live sound live rock/ will I need to keep inverts in the refugium?



2)What would be a good lighting system (everything has a moderate light

requirement except for the anemone)

will over lighting or too powerful of a light hurt things that

don’t need it.



3) What is adequate "moderate" water flow?



4)What will I need to do to feed my tank?

I know that some coral will just need light but how do I find out what I

will need for the ones that don’t.



Thanks guys,

Syndicate

[Junkzoo]

Welcome,,,
Wondering if asking this in the Nano forum,if your questions might get answered by the group of members that "specialize " in nano's.
If you want to post again in there , feel free,,,or if you want , i can ,or another mod/admin, can move your thread there. if you don't get many posts to your questions, just ask , and we'll try it in a more distinct forum to get your questions anwered,,,
Again, Welcome to TRT, and hope you enjoy your time with us!

[ShirleyM]

I personally would not go to the trouble or expense of drilling a 20-gal tank...and having a sump, etc. My son ran a *very* successful 30-gal w/no sump, no refugium..just a hang-on Big Mambasa skimmer and a couple of powerheads. He also used normal output lights....not VHO or PowerCompacts...very nice reef system.

How many fish do you plan to have? In a tank that small.....keep it to a very low number. Troy kept 1 neon dottyback in his 30-gal. He originally had more, but the ammonia and nitrites kept threatening to spike...

OH yes, And WELCOME!!!!!

~ Shirley

[yardboy]

I love my 20L's. I drilled them out for an overflow with a Dremel tool and diamond bits. Did three tanks with two holes each and the bits are still good. I think anything over a 20 is too thick to use a Dremel for, but just my $0.02.

I use 2-55watt power compacts on mine and get good growth on montipora digitata. Easy sps coral to grow, might not bother with acro's but most softies work too. As for too much light, I've got one 25 gallon tank with a 250W Sunburst metal halide on it. Seems to work great, though the light is 14 inches up from the water as I've got a mangrove under it! These are all experiments though. A nano dude would be able to answer you better.
Here's a shot of one of the tanks.